The Rough Draft

March 2019

(photo credit: Jim Hawe)

GREETINGS CLUB MEMBERS AND FELLOW BICYCLISTS

Spring is coming this month… Yahoo! It’s the time of year when most bicyclists are ready to start riding after the long winter lay-off. Here in the Valley, we are fortunate that our winters are such that with a few items of cold weather clothing, we can ride all year long. This year the cold weather seems to have lasted longer. I know myself I have not been out riding as much as I normally would be due to the cold, maybe because dare I say I am getting older. Hopefully as it warms up that will change.

MEMBERS MEETINGS

I want to thank club member Dr. Anthony ‘Tony’ Molina for his great presentation at last month’s Members Meeting held at Steven’s Bicycle Shop. His presentation was about his bicycling trip across Europe last summer with his brothers. He had a great photo presentation showing all the highlights of the trip. He explained how easy it was for he and his brothers to negotiate the trip and how any of us could do it without a huge expense. He talked about how the Europeans were so friendly and helpful to them on their journey.

It was a fun informative meeting; my disappointment was that there were less than 20 members in attendance to enjoy his presentation (however the rain may have been a factor as well). Last year the Board discussed the trend in low attendance at monthly members meetings. The discussion lead to the Board making the decision to try holding member meetings on a quarterly basis rather than monthly. That didn’t seem to be a solution. This year I decided to have meetings in January and February to see if there was any interest in attending. In January, Nancy Dooley and Hilton Osborne gave presentations on their bicycling Tours. Nancy’s tour was from Santa Barbara to San Diego and Hilton’s was his trip to Thailand. Both great presentations. There were about 25 members in attendance.

I would like to get feedback from our members regarding what meeting format would be of interest to increase attendance. After a recent bicycling-related yoga class, one thought by Secretary Janet Lucido was to incorporate yoga classes at the meetings. There had been a great turn out for the cycling/yoga class. Is it possible that with all that people have going on in their lives and with the advent of online social media, our members no longer feel the need or desire to attend members meetings? It could also be a generational thing. It seems most members who enjoy the meetings are those who have been members for years. The purpose of the monthly meetings is to:

bring information to members,

provide opportunity for social interaction and

agenda-planning for future events.

Your feedback will help guide the Board in how to make the meetings worthier of attending. Maybe just changing the night the meetings are held, or maybe having a ride to a location for the meeting. Please share your ideas with the Board members.

BOARD MEETING

When: Wed, March 6, 2018, 6:30 PM

Where: Me & Eds Victory Grill, 4010 N Cedar Ave, Fresno

THE KILLER BEES

Maybe it's time to pick up the level of your riding? Remember, Spring is right around the corner. Why not check out the Killer Bees?

Despite their name, they really are a nice group of people! The goal of the Killer Bees is to put FUN in your riding, and maybe help you pick up the pace a bit at the same time.

CLUB RELEVANCE

What is the purpose of a Club? What makes a Club successful? How do you define what is considered successful? These are questions that we continually must ask ourselves to stay relevant in today’s fast paced society.

I think we all have an idea of what the purpose of a Club is, otherwise we wouldn’t have joined. A club serves to organize a group of like-minded individuals that have one or more common interests. In the case of the Cycling Club that common interest is bicycling. What makes a club successful is the members and the leadership. Are the leaders in touch with the needs of the members? Do the members feel like the leadership is carrying out the desires of the group?

The Fresno Cycling Club has been around for 57 years; we aren’t perfect, but we must be doing a few things right to achieve such longevity. A club’s success can be measured in the number of ways. The number of members, the number of bicycle rides that are hosted on a weekly basis, how many members and guests attend the club activities, the number of cycling events that the club hosts each year, as well as the balance in the bank account.

Currently the Fresno Cycling Club has 948 members, we host 5 paid events:

the Kirch Flat Century (for over 25 years),

the Climb to Kaiser (44th year),

the Grizzly Century (25th year),

the Bass Lake Double Century (15th year), and

new last year, the Everybody Loves Raymond Gravel ride.

We host these events to provide riding opportunities for our members and the bicycling community at large. Each of the rides we host are supported and hosted by our Club members, Ride Directors, and Volunteers. We also host numerous free members-only rides (including the Monterey 17 Mile Drive ride in January, the Tour de Lakes ride in July, the two American River Trail rides, the Central Coast ride from Cayucos, and the Yosemite Valley ride, to name a few). We also host (free to members) the Belmont/Academy Time Trial Series, the Old Tollhouse Time Trial and the Four Lane Time Trial. Our ride leaders are invaluable to the Club and our members.

We have several active ride groups within the Club. There is:

the Killer Bees ride group who offer rides in the “A”, “B”, and “C” ride categories,

the All Roads Ride Group providing a focus on mixed gravel and pavement rides.

We also have several of the local Bike shops who host weekly rides for the benefit of members and the cycling community.

Our success also lies with our advocacy efforts to promote safer bicycling in our community as well as state-wide. Over the past 20-plus years our advocacy efforts have been responsible for the construction of many miles of bike lanes and trails, the support of laws getting passed (such as the three-foot law and others) that promote safe bicycling. The Club also worked with the County of Fresno to install over 20 “Share the Road” signs throughout the foothills where many bicyclists enjoy riding. What allows the Club to have a greater impact in advocacy is the number of members in the club. The greater the number, the greater the voice. Therefore, it is important to encourage bicyclists in our community to join the club to help increase our voice.

VOLUNTEERS

The Fresno Cycling Club is an all-volunteer organization. As such, the club’s success depends solely on the willingness of members to do the work of the club. The positions of the Board of Directors, the Ride Directors, Ride Leaders and all the event volunteers are filled by club members who want to make the club successful and fulfill the mission of the Club. Over the past 57 years our members have provided the level of support necessary to keep the club active and prosperous. For the club to continue on as a successful club serving its members and the bicycling community, we will need members who are willing to step up to positions that may become vacant in the future.

As we prepare for this year of club hosted bicycling, we will be seeking the commitment of volunteers to help staff the upcoming rides and events. When the calls go out for volunteers, please step up and keep our events, rides, and club successful.

EVENT AND ACTIVITY PLANNING

Several of our major events are already in the planning stages. Event venues have been secured, sponsors are being secured, registration procedures are either in place or ready to be set up. This year to help the Ride Directors put on successful events, the Board is wanting to assemble an event planning committee and we are looking for members who want to learn more about putting on events and help us with the planning and coordinating our events. If you are interested in helping, please contact me at president@fresnocycling.com, or any of the Board members whose emails are listed on the Club website. If you are on Facebook, you can reach us there as well. Phone calls work too.

UPCOMING EVENT

The Kirch Flat Century is coming up May 4th, be sure to sign up as soon as the registration is available. We'll be sending out more information when the registration is ready to start.

DEVIN'S SHOP TALK BLOG

Devin Bovee has added to his blog, this time talking about Seat Bag Envy. Do you check out other's bags when you ride? Not sure what to take along when you ride? Find out the scoop in Devin's Latest Blogpost.

PAY-TO-RIDE EVENTS

There are some great paid events coming our way.

The Blossom Ride is coming March 2,

The Cal Classic is April 6,

The Kirch Flat Century is May 4,

Climb to Kaiser will be June 22,

The Grizzly Century will be on Sept 14,

The Bass Lake Double Century on Oct 12,

The Hammer Ride will be Oct 19th.

There are a lot of rides to choose from and those are just the local rides. The Wildflower Century will be April 27th, and the Light House Century will be on Sept 28th.

Find us on the web at www.fresnocycling.com or find us Facebook and get plugged into one of the ride groups. Start your training for the big events!

That’s all I have for now. See you on the road!

The Prez, aka Dennis Ball

LOCAL BIKE SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS

For many of us, eating and riding are the two major things in life. We all rely on and support our local bike shops. These are the people dedicated to making sure that we can all safely enjoy what we do. A few local restaurants go out of their way to accomodate cyclists. Please be sure to support these folks, and tell them you are an FCC Member!

OTHER ITEMS

The Fresno Cycling Club is a group of some 800+ cyclists who enjoy bicycling as recreation and sport. As a club we seek to offer cycling events and activities that span a spectrum of cycling interests. Club rides are scheduled year round and range from novice level to 200-mile expert rides. We protect the rights of cyclists by following local, state, and national affairs as they concern cycling. Club members receive a monthly newsletter listing ride schedules and other information of interest to cyclists. Don't wait another minute! Join now! Welcome to the Fresno Cycling Club.